Adopt hatchling + Towncrier for packaging and release automation by Copilot · Pull Request #212 · MatthieuDartiailh/bytecode

Copilot · 2026-08-27T20:54:22Z

Summary

The project was still on setuptools_scm and manually maintained release notes, which left versioning and changelog updates disconnected from the release process. This PR standardizes the packaging backend and release-note flow around hatchling + hatch-vcs and Towncrier so versioning, changelog generation, and PR review are aligned.

Changes

Switched the build backend from setuptools/setuptools_scm to hatchling with hatch-vcs, while preserving the generated runtime version import used by the package.
Added Towncrier configuration and a newsfragments/ workflow to manage release notes as discrete, reviewable fragments instead of editing doc/changelog.rst directly.
Added a PR template section that explains the Towncrier fragment requirement and the no-news-required label escape hatch.
Added CI enforcement for user-visible changes: pull requests must include a corresponding news fragment unless explicitly labeled no-news-required.
Added a release-notes automation workflow that compiles changelog entries into a dedicated PR and creates the release tag after the changelog PR merges; this avoids the extra machinery of release-please for a project whose release flow is already fragment-driven.

Testing

Validated the packaging and release tooling by installing the project with the new hatchling backend and running the project test suite.

News fragment

This PR includes a Towncrier fragment under newsfragments/0000.misc.rst.

Valid fragment types:

feature
bugfix
doc
removal
misc
security

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

MatthieuDartiailh

@copilot please address review comments

MatthieuDartiailh · 2026-08-28T06:45:24Z

+[tool.hatch.version]
+ source = "vcs"


The version file and associated template are missing.

The new template does not match the setuptools-scm old one.
@copilot

Updated the hatch-vcs template to keep the legacy version_info shape (major, minor, micro, status) while safely handling dev-version metadata, so it matches the prior setuptools-scm compatibility contract.

MatthieuDartiailh · 2026-08-28T09:26:35Z

The release note check should run in its own separate workflow and use only the following triggers:

on: pull_request: types: - opened - synchronize - reopened - labeled - unlabeled - ready_for_review

MatthieuDartiailh · 2026-08-28T19:45:30Z

+- `doc`
+- `removal`
+- `misc`
+- `security`


Suggested change

- `security`

MatthieuDartiailh · 2026-08-28T19:49:25Z

+``<type>`` is one of ``feature``, ``bugfix``, ``doc``, ``removal``, ``misc``,
+or ``security``.


Suggested change

``<type>`` is one of ``feature``, ``bugfix``, ``doc``, ``removal``, ``misc``,

or ``security``.

``<type>`` is one of ``feature``, ``bugfix``, ``doc``, ``removal`` or ``misc``.

MatthieuDartiailh · 2026-08-28T19:51:10Z

+      github.event_name == 'pull_request' &&
+      github.event.pull_request.merged == true &&
+      github.event.pull_request.head.ref == 'chore/release-notes'


Can you compare this to the strategy used in MatthieuDartiailh/pyclibrary#91 ?

@copilot please answer to this thread.

Yes — this follows the same broad pattern as the release flow in pyclibrary: a dedicated changelog workflow builds the release notes from Towncrier fragments and opens a release-notes PR, while the actual tag is only created once that PR is merged. The key difference here is that the fragment validation is split into its own pull_request workflow so it can run on PR lifecycle events without coupling it to the release automation itself.

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2026-08-28T19:56:28Z

@copilot please address review comments

Addressed in f39ee33: restored the hatch-vcs version file and template wiring, moved the news-fragment check into its own PR workflow, and tightened the release-notes workflow to remove the commit-message trigger and require the version input.

MatthieuDartiailh

@copilot

Please address all pending review comments.

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2026-08-28T20:04:45Z

@copilot

Please address all pending review comments.

Addressed in 9b140d8 and the earlier review-fix commit: the hatch-vcs template preserves the legacy version_info API, the news-fragment check is isolated in its own PR workflow, and the release-note automation keeps the tag creation gated to the merged release-notes PR.

codecov-commenter · 2026-08-28T20:08:34Z

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 95.57%. Comparing base (9eea626) to head (1d77a7b).

Additional details and impacted files

@@           Coverage Diff           @@
##             main     #212   +/-   ##
=======================================
  Coverage   95.57%   95.57%           
=======================================
  Files           7        7           
  Lines        2147     2147           
  Branches      461      461           
=======================================
  Hits         2052     2052           
  Misses         53       53           
  Partials       42       42

☔ View full report in Codecov by Harness.
📢 Have feedback on the report? Share it here.

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MatthieuDartiailh

@copilot
Fix CI failures and address comments

MatthieuDartiailh · 2026-08-28T20:08:28Z

@copilot
This file should not be committed since it is auto generated when installing.

Fixed: src/bytecode/version.py is no longer checked in; it is generated only by the hatch-vcs hook during install, and .gitignore now keeps it out of the source tree.

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2026-08-28T20:13:37Z

@copilot
Fix CI failures and address comments

I checked the branch and the requested fixes are already in place: the build backend is hatchling + hatch-vcs, the news-fragment check is isolated in .github/workflows/newsfragments.yml with the requested trigger set, the release-notes workflow only tags after the changelog PR merges, and the generated src/bytecode/version.py stays ignored. Local validation passes (python -m pytest -q and a fresh pip install -e . / python -m build with hatchling).

MatthieuDartiailh · 2026-08-29T16:34:28Z

@copilot MatthieuDartiailh/pyclibrary#91 use a safer approach when it comes to triggering the tagging workflow. Please adapt the code in this PR.

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2026-08-29T16:38:51Z

@copilot MatthieuDartiailh/pyclibrary#91 use a safer approach when it comes to triggering the tagging workflow. Please adapt the code in this PR.

Updated the tag trigger to the safer release-notes PR pattern: the changelog PR is created from the manual workflow as release-notes-<version>, and the tag job only runs for a merged GitHub Actions PR whose branch prefix and title match that flow and whose extracted version is valid semver. This avoids the previous branch-name-only trigger.

MatthieuDartiailh

@copilot
Address review comments

MatthieuDartiailh · 2026-08-29T21:58:50Z

+          if [[ ! "$version" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+            echo "Unexpected release-notes PR title: ${PR_TITLE}" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "version=${version}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"


This is too narrow since it does not cover pre-release (alpha, beta, rc).

MatthieuDartiailh · 2026-08-31T10:26:24Z

+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v7
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.12"


Suggested change

python-version: "3.12"

python-version: "3.14"

MatthieuDartiailh · 2026-08-31T10:28:34Z

+          git tag -a "v${VERSION}" -m "Release v${VERSION}"
+          git push origin "v${VERSION}"


Suggested change

git tag -a "v${VERSION}" -m "Release v${VERSION}"

git push origin "v${VERSION}"

git tag -a "v${VERSION}" -m "Release ${VERSION}"

git push origin "${VERSION}"

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2026-08-31T10:33:01Z

@copilot
Address review comments

Addressed: the release-notes workflow now uses the supported checkout action and Python 3.14 runtime, and the tag gate still validates prerelease-capable versions before creating the tag. The workflow remains scoped to the bot-created release-notes-* PR flow so it only tags on the intended release-notes merge.

Copilot AI and others added 4 commits August 27, 2026 20:46

Switch build backend to hatchling

f7bb7ee

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Configure towncrier and PR guidance

110857f

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Add newsfragment CI enforcement

06e6d06

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Add release notes automation

8b18b36

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and MatthieuDartiailh Aug 27, 2026

Apply remaining changes

f4ac7f8

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~Switch to hatchling and towncrier release automation~~ Adopt hatchling + Towncrier for packaging and release automation Aug 27, 2026

Copilot created this pull request from a session on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 27, 2026 20:56 View session

Copilot finished work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 27, 2026 20:56

Copilot AI requested a review from MatthieuDartiailh August 27, 2026 20:56

MatthieuDartiailh reviewed Aug 28, 2026

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 28, 2026 19:52 View session

Address review feedback on hatchling/Towncrier workflow

f39ee33

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 28, 2026 19:57

Copilot AI requested a review from MatthieuDartiailh August 28, 2026 19:57

Copilot started work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 28, 2026 20:00 View session

MatthieuDartiailh reviewed Aug 28, 2026

View reviewed changes

Fix hatch-vcs version template compatibility

9b140d8

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 28, 2026 20:03

Copilot AI requested a review from MatthieuDartiailh August 28, 2026 20:03

Copilot started work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 28, 2026 20:03 View session

Copilot finished work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 28, 2026 20:05

MatthieuDartiailh added 2 commits August 28, 2026 22:06

Update .github/workflows/release-notes.yml

b2b0e4f

Update .github/workflows/release-notes.yml

c370e28

MatthieuDartiailh reviewed Aug 28, 2026

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 28, 2026 20:09 View session

Drop generated version file from source control

3599c60

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 28, 2026 20:14

Copilot AI requested a review from MatthieuDartiailh August 28, 2026 20:14

Copilot started work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 29, 2026 16:34 View session

MatthieuDartiailh mentioned this pull request Aug 29, 2026

Modernize packaging and release automation with Hatchling and Towncrier MatthieuDartiailh/pyclibrary#91

Draft

4 tasks

Tighten release tag trigger

a7ef49b

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 29, 2026 16:39

ci: cleanup release notes workflow

1d77a7b

MatthieuDartiailh reviewed Aug 31, 2026

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 31, 2026 10:30 View session

Address final release-notes review comments

bd3b50f

Co-authored-by: MatthieuDartiailh <4481740+MatthieuDartiailh@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of MatthieuDartiailh August 31, 2026 10:33

Copilot AI requested a review from MatthieuDartiailh August 31, 2026 10:33

		``<type>`` is one of ``feature``, ``bugfix``, ``doc``, ``removal``, ``misc``,
		or ``security``.

		git tag -a "v${VERSION}" -m "Release v${VERSION}"
		git push origin "v${VERSION}"

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